A landmark discovery can help you sleep better, relieve stress, and have more energy.
What’s the most sensitive part of your body—per square inch? If you guessed the foot, then you are right on. Believe it or not, your foot contains 1,300 nerve endings per square inch! “That’s more than [is] found on any other part of the body of comparable size,” says podiatrist and researcher William Rossi, DPM.
Why?
“To keep us ‘in touch’ with the Earth,” he says,” the real physical world around us. It’s called ‘sensory response.'” Much like an animal’s paw, your foot “is the vital link” between you and the Earth, providing a “little known but vital function” that serves to “extract” energy from the Earth—similar to the way a plant extracts moisture and nutrients from the soil.
When we walk barefoot, the front part of our soles (closest to the ball of our feet) comes in contact with the Earth. Traditional Chinese medicine designates this part of the foot as a major acupuncture point—a major entryway for the absorption of the Earth’s energy, or Qi, that reaches many of the body’s most important organs, including the brain, diaphragm, heart, lungs, and liver.
Dr. Rossi considers “ground-to-foot vibrations” of walking barefoot to be “an important energizing power helping to serve the body’s life forces.”
Within the past ten years, scientists have discovered remarkable health benefits when human beings “ground” themselves—much the way our ancient ancestors did by walking barefoot or wearing conductive leather foot coverings (think moccasins) that kept the healing connection with the Earth. That’s because human beings—like other animals and even plants—evolved in harmony with the Earth’s natural electrical energy.
Because humans are electrical creatures (especially our brains and hearts), we literally need to recharge our batteries—at least our electron tank—to stay “grounded,” research finds. As Nobel Prize winning biochemist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (who initially identified vitamin C) explains, “Life is too rapid and subtle to be explained by slow-moving chemical reactions and nerve impulses.” Without our own electrical circuitry, none of the warp-speed communications that produce normal bodily functions could occur.
Dr. Ann Louise’s Take:
The back-to-the-Earth movement has taken on a whole new meaning with Earthing, an elegantly simple—but revolutionary—grounding discovery. Harnessing the Earth’s healing energy via conductive bed sheets, bed pads, mats, and bands leads to better and deeper sleep, increased energy, and less stress, as measured by cortisol (stress hormone) levels in the body. And Earthing normalizes the antioxidant-rich hormone, melatonin, too. As we age, melatonin levels start to decline—and have been linked to both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
That’s not all! Research shows that Earthing relieves chronic inflammation and pain, and markedly improves athletic peak performance. No wonder that the U.S. Cycling team used Earthing to help recover from five grueling Tour de France competitions! The results also included improved sleep, elimination of tendonitis, highly accelerated recovery and wound healing, more consistent performance, and even a higher team morale.
The basic science is this: The Earth’s surface is teeming with free electrons. Like antioxidants in foods and supplements, these negatively charged free electrons help neutralize the damage caused by positively charged free radicals linked to chronic inflammation and all sorts of health problems from arthritis to cardiovascular disease to chronic wounds and diabetic ulcers.
Earthing Can Unzap You Too
I first learned about this novel grounding technique when I was writing my latest book Zapped. Bathed as we all are today in invisible man-made electropollution from antennae, cell and cordless phones, digital devices, faulty wiring, microwaves, PDAs, satellite radio/TV, and WiFi, it’s even harder to get grounded or Earthed.
Dozens of studies, though, show the benefit of personal grounding or Earthing. These findings support the pioneering work of Dr. Ross Adey, who believed that electrical magnetic fields (EMFs) interfere with the natural, normal electrical communication between cells. Earthing can help prevent interference from man-made EMFs, which can lead to all kinds of signaling errors that can cause symptoms as diverse as headaches, dizziness, disorientation, nausea, and short-term memory loss to brain tumors, breast cancer, and leukemia.
Sweet Dreams & More
Now I’ve been using Earthing technology in my home for about a year—and am amazed (as are my family and, when they visit, my house guests) at how much better I sleep. I’m actually dreaming again, which I hadn’t done for years. The only element that has been “new” in my lifestyle regimen has been the Earthing products amid great challenges and stress. Even though there have been plenty of restless nights, the Earthing sheets and band I sleep with have helped reduce tension and anxiety, and relieve aches, pains and every other sign of inflammation.
Don’t just take my word for it, though! Here’s what other professional have to say:
• “Personally, I’ve seen three surprising changes after I started Earthing two years ago. The first was the disappearance of a stubborn remnant of an infection—likely one of those antibiotic-resistant staph infections. . . . Within two days, the [infectious] lump was gone. Like magic. . . . Similarly, I had a very sensitive tooth for about 25 years. . . . After a few months of Earthing, I noticed the sensitivity disappeared. . . . The biggest change health-wise has been my allergies. As a kid, they were completely disruptive. . . . Exposure would incapacitate me for two or three days. . . But Earthing has been like the coup de grace. I’ve gone through two pollen allergy seasons without any problems.” —David Wolfe, health writer and speaker
• “I’ve been grounded for about three years, and now it’s completely integrated into my practice. I see people all the time who come to a doctor like me as a last resort. The first feedback I usually hear after a patient started Earthing is an email the following morning that says, ‘I’ve just had the best sleep in 20 years.’ . . . . In terms of my own personal experience, I didn’t see anything miraculous, at least not for a while. For decades, I have suffered with . . . a condition in which the cornea of the eye becomes progressively thin, leading to significant visual loss. . . . In addition to the pain, I was waking up each morning with drainage coming out the eye. After about four months of Earthing, I woke up one morning and realized the drainage was not there. From that day on, there has been no drainage at all. The pain level has stayed low, and it’s very tolerable almost all the time.” —David Gersten, MD, integrative nutrition/psychiatry practitioner
• “I applied Earthing first to myself and my wife. We both felt a difference. Our sleep is deeper. We used to go barefoot some of the time. Now we go barefoot all the time. . . . My clinical impression is that Earthing helps decrease inflammation in people with autoimmune disorders. I have seen it make a difference for people with depression and anxiety. ” —Gabriel Cousens, MD, director of Arizona’s Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center
Get and Give Earthing
Of course—unless you live in a tropical climate—you can’t go barefoot this time of year! But you can get Earthing products that are barefoot substitutes—and give these unique gifts of health to those you care about.
I sleep on Earthing Fitted Sheets, a great way to ground yourself to the Earth. Available in king, queen, full, and twin sizes, these sheets are made from white 240-thread count 50/50 poly cotton fabric woven with conductive silver fibers to reconnect you to the Earth’s healing energy via a ground cord. One end of the cord snaps onto the sheet. The prong end of the cord inserts into the ground port of an electrical outlet or connects to a ground rod directly into Mother Earth.
Also available is the Earthing Bed Pad, which can be placed at the foot of a bed, over the bottom fitted sheet, and tucked around and under the mattress. Placing your bare feet or any part of your body on the sheet grounds your body to the Earth during sleep. This pad can also be placed lengthwise on the bed if for some reason your partner does not want to sleep Earthed.
Like the fitted sheet, this pad connects to the Earth with a ground cord. One end of the cord snaps onto the sheet. The prong end of the cord inserts into the ground port.
For starters, try Earthing Body Bands, which can be comfortably worn or placed on the body, allowing for easy mobility while grounded. An 8-inch band fits the foot, elbow, or wrist; a 16-inch band adapts for the head, knee, thigh, or shoulder; and the 42-inch bands works around the chest or waist. The kit includes a 20-foot coil cord, outlet ground checker, user guide, and a complimentary copy of Earthing.
This holiday season, bring on the healing power of Earthing!
Sources:
Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn’t Be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20708499
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19524846
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19083655
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18047442
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15650465
